The smartphones that matter at CES 2016 (pictures)

The glittering lights of Las Vegas plays home to CES -- the technology tradeshow that sees the world's tech giants gathering to show off the latest, greatest products. You'll find TVs, cameras and enough wearable gadgets to sink a ship on the show floor, but it's the new smartphones that we're taking a look at here.

Editors' note: This gallery will be updated throughout CES as more phones are unveiled.

First up is the K10 from LG. It maintains the rear-mounted volume and power buttons we've seen on all of LG's recent phones, but it shirks the all-leather design of the flagship G4. Instead, it has a rounded, pebble-like design. Also on board is a 5.3-inch display and a 13-megapixel camera.

There's no word yet on pricing or availability, but we expect to hear more over the coming months.

The K10 has a little brother too, named the K7. Like its sibling, it has a curving design, although the standout feature of this phone is its front-facing camera. The 5-megapixel sensor is pretty standard now, but the front-facing flash is something of a rarity and will really help those selfies in dimly lit bars stand out.

Like the K10, there's no word on pricing yet, but we expect to hear more soon.

CNET got an exclusive first look at the new gold version of the brilliant Nexus 6P, Google's flagship phone. It has the same specs -- and, crucially, the same price -- as the other versions, but we love this new colour option.

The ball you see there on the Yezz Sfera's backing is a spherical camera capable of taking 360-degree photos and video. Guess what? There's one on the front, too.

Alcatel has a whole raft of affordable handsets too. All part of the Pixi 4 family, this series of six phones starts with a tiny 3.5-inch model, ballooning up to a gargantuan 6-inch beast, with the larger size boasting more powerful internal specs and better cameras.

Prices will vary across the range too, although all Alcatel's Pixi line are aimed at the budget end of the market, so expect these handsets to come with affordable price tags attached later in the year.

See our complete CES 2016 coverage here.

With its 5.7-inch display, the DuraForce XD is one of Kyocera's largest durable handsets. Originally announced in October 2015, AT&T will begin selling the device on January 8 for $49.99 with a two-year carrier contract or $14.97 per month for 24 months without (which is a total of $359.28).

As part of Kyocera's line of tough smartphones, the DuraForce XD is dust- and shockproof, can withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures and can be submerged in up to six feet of water for 30 minutes.

The huge, metal Huawei Mate 8 has plenty of appeal and only minor drawbacks that big-phone fans can deal with, but the Nexus 6P is still Jessica Dolcourt's top Huawei pick.

The ZTE Avid Plus's list of entry-level features makes it a good device for the budget-conscious. You'll get a 5-inch LCD display, a 1.1GHz Snapdragon 210 quad-core processor and 8GB of internal storage for $115 in the US. It will go on sale on January 20.

Certified for IP57 levels of toughness, the Hydro View is protected against dust and water getting into the seals. You can dunk in up to 1 meter of water (a little over 3 feet) for up to 30 minutes.

Made by Letv, a Chinese entertainment company not exactly not known for smartphones, is the first phone we've seen running Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset. It also has Android 6.0, a 21-megapixel rear camera and a 6.33-inch display.

Yes, you have seen a Fierce XL from Alcatel before, but that was running on Android. This newest Fierce XL has the same specs, but it runs Windows 10 and has a bright blue chassis that's straight from one of Nokia's original Windows Phone handsets.

The Vivo 5 from Miami-based phone maker Blu will come with an affordable price tag, but it doesn't skimp on the premium materials. It's the first all-metal phone from Blu, and will also sport a 5.5-inch display and a 13-megapixel camera.

It'll go on sale in February for $200 (roughly £137 and AU$283) in North and Latin america. No word on wider availability as yet.

Even cheaper is Blu's other phone, the Vivo XL. It has very similar specs to the Vivo 5, including the 5.5-inch 720p display and 13-megapixel camera, but ditches the metal body. Thanks to its cheaper chassis, the XL comes in at only $150 (or about £103 or AU$212) which is very cheap for such a big phone.

Like the Vivo 5, the Blu XL mostly sells in Latin America, with Blu selling its handsets in North America directly through its website and via Amazon. We're yet to see the phone on sale elsewhere in the world.

This inexpensive, all-metal phone comes in metallic colors. It runs on Android 5.1 and has a 13-megapixel camera, a 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and a 5.5-inch display.

Also in the budget category are the Archos 50 Cobalt and 55 Cobalt Plus . These 5-inch and 5.5-inch respectively Android phones may have very middle-of-the-road specs, but should come with cut-down prices.

The N5L, also from Nuu Mobile, comes with a very cut-down set of specs, including a 1GHz quad-core processor and only 8GB of internal storage. Its trump card: a big 5.5-inch display and a very low price. This guy is set to cost around $130 (that's about £84 or AU$180), making it a very affordable option.

The 5-inch X4 from Nuu Mobile doesn't have the specs to challenge the iPhone 6S, but its affordable price puts it right up against the Motorola Moto G -- a budget phone we're particularly fond of. Like the Moto G, the X4 boasts a 720p display resolution and a 13-megapixel camera. We'll have to wait to get both phones side-by-side before deciding which we prefer.